KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian citizen Lee Choon Ping is facing a rare charge of video voyeurism after allegedly planting a recording device in the first-class bathroom of a United Airlines flight in May.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Lee was arrested last Thursday (Aug 7) and is being held in a detention facility in Houston, Texas, after United States law enforcement tracked the device to him.
Images extracted from the device showed a man, later identified by investigators as Lee, setting up the camera in the bathroom of the aircraft, which was en route from San Diego to Houston.
The allegations surfaced after a fellow passenger seated in the last row of the first-class cabin found a device with a blinking blue light near the restroom's cabinet, wall and door hinge.
A special agent from the US' Federal Bureau of Investigation was quoted as saying that the device was loosely hanging, and that the female passenger was not sure whether it was part of the aircraft.
The woman later gave the item to the flight crew, who handed it to security officials at George Bush Intercontinental airport, who determined it was a video camera.
Although the man's face in the video footage was not clearly visible, his attire, shoes, accessories and jewellery were "distinctive", the FBI agent said.
Lee was given away after investigators cross-referenced the device's recording with security footage of passengers at the airports in San Diego and Houston.
According to a separate report by KRTK, Lee is an employee at US oil-and-gas company Haliburton, which also supplied investigators with a photograph of him in clothes that matched the person in the surveillance videos.
“Halliburton is aware of the situation and is cooperating with the FBI and US Attorney’s office in their investigation,” the firm said in a statement.
“We have a robust Code of Business Conduct and expect every employee to abide by the standards contained in the Code and all applicable laws.”